I have really been enjoying your videos. I am especially interested in the National Geographic tumbler. I have been thinking about getting one. Thank you for sharing your experiment. 🙃☕
Good test. What polish do you typically use for the finishing stage? In the US, the 1200 grit is what comes in most grit sets. I haven't tried ordering anything else yet, such as cerium oxide or tin oxide.
Hi, I am currently testing out the various polishes, I have been trying out Zinc oxide for the last few weeks and while it's ok I'm not a great fan. I have used tin oxide in the past which I do like a lot and have had great results. I will try Cerium over the next few weeks and report later on the results though the one tumble I have done so far had a great finish. I am not certain but I believe in the US tumbling suppliers sell a finer grade of Alox for polishing? I think the reason that my tumble did get a polish was just the time I left it in for, the grit breaks down and gets finer and finer and eventually gets to a polishing grade. That's my theory anyway! Thanks for the input, cheers!
Is there a video clip that is specific about what grit to use at each stage? The beginners started to but with the next 7 week repeats I was not clear if you used the same grit level or moved to different level.
Hi Clara, there is no absolute rule about grit sizes at each stage, you do change grit sizees at each stage, as a general guide use 40, 60 or 80 grit at the first stage, 180,200 or 240, at the second 400, or 600 at the third and then your polish. But a lot will depend on the roughness of the rocks to start with, I have had success using all of these grades at on time or another. I also often run the first stage two or three times to rip off the outer surface of the stones, recharging the 40,80 or 60 grit each time. If you are a novice I suggest you use 80 grit, 240 grit then 400 grit. Try varying the length of time at each stage, as a general rule the longer at each stage the better. Best of luck and enjoy your tumbling!
Hello! Michigan Rocks sent me to you. I am just starting out in my rock tumbling journey, doing research. I live in the UK and have been searching for aluminum oxide polish. The smallest I've found is 1500 grit. I've ordered a small amount of cerium oxide to try that out, but I see in some of your other videos that tin oxide is also great. I thought I'd experiment with the 1500 aluminum oxide, and/or use the 1200 and a final polish with the cerium oxide to see how that goes. Where do you get your aluminum oxide powder from, especially the 400 grit? Thank you again and grateful to know getting a great polish in the UK is possible!
Hi Donna, this is where I buy aluminium grit from. Best of luck with your tumbling. www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/abrasives/abrasive-powder-grit/aluminium-oxide-abrasive-gri
If the theory is that grit from a previous run may harden in cracks of a rock when it's dried to examine than perhaps a dental water pick could be utilized to clean out holes and crack in said rocks to prevent cross grit contamination between runs, shakes or tumbles.
My theory is that you wash out the stones thoroughly between each stage, washing the grit from any cracks etc. before drying them. It seems to work for me! Thank you for the input!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thanks for all your informative lines on tumbling. My son and I are just starting our very first tumble and thanks to your experimental videos we are looking to switch to aluminum oxide and tin oxide along with ceramic media for stage 1&2 and plastic triangles for stage 3.
I can't find aluminum oxide finer than 1000 in my country. Is it possible to get that glassy shine with 1000 grit? Well, I will try it anyway 😅 Thanks for the video.
Probably not, it would be best if you source a polish powder such as cerium oxide or tin oxide for the final stage! (Zinc oxide also works but not as well) Best of luck!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Great place to find Aluminium Oxide! Thanks for asking, Michael, I also struggled to find it in the UK. Decent prices too - thanks!
i have a theory. you could always one run full stage on a large tumbler with a lot of rocks on aluminum oxide first and then sort out the ones eaten away fast. helps sort rocks by hardness in a odd sort of way lol
Hi, I run at least one barrel (and sometimes 2 or 3) constantly at the first stage, taking out the ones ready for the second stage and adding more for the first stage tumbling. To sort out hardness it might be quicker to use a scratch test with a knife blade. Keep having theories and you will become a great tumbler, this is a thinking persons hobby! Thanks for watching.
I use 46/70 silicone carbide or plain 80 grit for stage 1. Stage 2 I also use silicone carbide 120/220 everything after that is aluminum oxide. I have 14000 grit for my final polish
Hi Joanne, I assume you are in the USA? I cannot find silica carbide coarser than 60 grit and only then on odd occasions on Amazon! Nice to hear what other tumblers do, SC is definitely a bit more effective at the coarser grades but this does come at a price here in the UK. Enjoy your tumbling and thank you for the input!
Hi Dennis, this is just what I wanted, a bit of useful info about the Alox powder. As far as I can make out Alox of this grade is not available in the UK. Which is a pity as the other Oxides Tin,Cerium etc. are quite expensive. The other issue I have is the cost of Silica Carbide, the largest quantities I can buy is 1kg lots, I buy 5kg of Alox grit at the same price which motivated me to do this test. At this price I can shovel in twice as much alox grit and still save money. Thank you for the input and the info, cheers!
also. get a dremel and a cheap set of diamond bits. those big crazy sets. you can polish out holes and defects. even a drill could work those bits and a lot slower pace. just dip in water often
Hi, think you will find using a dremel very slow, these stones are very hard. I use my water fed saw when I want to take off heavily rough parts of the stone as it is very aggressive and therefore quick, but I also smooth up the cut with a diamond polisher head as the wheel marks from the saw will stay even through the polishing process. If you have a dremel it is worth a try though so good thinking. Thank you for the input.
1500 polish isn't real polish, its more of a pre polish... In America we use 1 micron polish that is 14000 grit for that beautiful shine... Kingsley North is a good supplier, and the house of rocks... Get som actual polish and see the difference its amazing...
You could use a 2/1 ratio Aluminum Oxide thus Sylicon Carbide or vise versa, But that 40 grade is going to do the business you might gain a stage and a fortnight running tome plus reducing cost.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Just to say,im getting also very convercent with knolege of your working regim and they are great understanding, your time operating system is by far the best i have seen thank you also for the education nothing like everyvbeing tidy neat and in place.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Not at all, facts matter, especially when you are referring to materials using technical names, mistakes can cause people to make dangerous mistakes. You should own the problem and correct it rather and being defensive about it and minimising it. Live and learn.
I have really been enjoying your videos. I am especially interested in the National Geographic tumbler. I have been thinking about getting one. Thank you for sharing your experiment. 🙃☕
Enjoy your tumbling and thank you for watching!
The Nat Geo tumbler is a fast speed tumbler, just a heads up
New to this and enjoyed your video will be watching more to get some knowledge thank you
Thank you kindly!
Good test. What polish do you typically use for the finishing stage? In the US, the 1200 grit is what comes in most grit sets. I haven't tried ordering anything else yet, such as cerium oxide or tin oxide.
Hi, I am currently testing out the various polishes, I have been trying out Zinc oxide for the last few weeks and while it's ok I'm not a great fan. I have used tin oxide in the past which I do like a lot and have had great results. I will try Cerium over the next few weeks and report later on the results though the one tumble I have done so far had a great finish. I am not certain but I believe in the US tumbling suppliers sell a finer grade of Alox for polishing? I think the reason that my tumble did get a polish was just the time I left it in for, the grit breaks down and gets finer and finer and eventually gets to a polishing grade. That's my theory anyway! Thanks for the input, cheers!
Is there a video clip that is specific about what grit to use at each stage? The beginners started to but with the next 7 week repeats I was not clear if you used the same grit level or moved to different level.
Hi Clara, there is no absolute rule about grit sizes at each stage, you do change grit sizees at each stage, as a general guide use 40, 60 or 80 grit at the first stage, 180,200 or 240, at the second 400, or 600 at the third and then your polish. But a lot will depend on the roughness of the rocks to start with, I have had success using all of these grades at on time or another. I also often run the first stage two or three times to rip off the outer surface of the stones, recharging the 40,80 or 60 grit each time. If you are a novice I suggest you use 80 grit, 240 grit then 400 grit. Try varying the length of time at each stage, as a general rule the longer at each stage the better. Best of luck and enjoy your tumbling!
Hello! Michigan Rocks sent me to you. I am just starting out in my rock tumbling journey, doing research. I live in the UK and have been searching for aluminum oxide polish. The smallest I've found is 1500 grit. I've ordered a small amount of cerium oxide to try that out, but I see in some of your other videos that tin oxide is also great. I thought I'd experiment with the 1500 aluminum oxide, and/or use the 1200 and a final polish with the cerium oxide to see how that goes. Where do you get your aluminum oxide powder from, especially the 400 grit? Thank you again and grateful to know getting a great polish in the UK is possible!
Hi Donna, this is where I buy aluminium grit from. Best of luck with your tumbling. www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/abrasives/abrasive-powder-grit/aluminium-oxide-abrasive-gri
If the theory is that grit from a previous run may harden in cracks of a rock when it's dried to examine than perhaps a dental water pick could be utilized to clean out holes and crack in said rocks to prevent cross grit contamination between runs, shakes or tumbles.
My theory is that you wash out the stones thoroughly between each stage, washing the grit from any cracks etc. before drying them. It seems to work for me! Thank you for the input!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thanks for all your informative lines on tumbling. My son and I are just starting our very first tumble and thanks to your experimental videos we are looking to switch to aluminum oxide and tin oxide along with ceramic media for stage 1&2 and plastic triangles for stage 3.
I can't find aluminum oxide finer than 1000 in my country. Is it possible to get that glassy shine with 1000 grit? Well, I will try it anyway 😅
Thanks for the video.
Probably not, it would be best if you source a polish powder such as cerium oxide or tin oxide for the final stage! (Zinc oxide also works but not as well) Best of luck!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thanks!
Where can I source Al oxide in the UK? Struggling to find it!
Hi Michael, this is where I buy mine: www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/abrasives/abrasive-powder-grit/aluminium-oxide-abrasive-grit
Cheers!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 thank you so much! 👍🏻
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Great place to find Aluminium Oxide! Thanks for asking, Michael, I also struggled to find it in the UK. Decent prices too - thanks!
i have a theory. you could always one run full stage on a large tumbler with a lot of rocks on aluminum oxide first and then sort out the ones eaten away fast. helps sort rocks by hardness in a odd sort of way lol
Hi, I run at least one barrel (and sometimes 2 or 3) constantly at the first stage, taking out the ones ready for the second stage and adding more for the first stage tumbling. To sort out hardness it might be quicker to use a scratch test with a knife blade. Keep having theories and you will become a great tumbler, this is a thinking persons hobby! Thanks for watching.
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 i love this hobby haha. we hound the great lakes area so lots of fun rocks to get! ty for your time!
I use 46/70 silicone carbide or plain 80 grit for stage 1. Stage 2 I also use silicone carbide 120/220 everything after that is aluminum oxide. I have 14000 grit for my final polish
Hi Joanne, I assume you are in the USA? I cannot find silica carbide coarser than 60 grit and only then on odd occasions on Amazon! Nice to hear what other tumblers do, SC is definitely a bit more effective at the coarser grades but this does come at a price here in the UK. Enjoy your tumbling and thank you for the input!
I use the aluminium oxide for my final polishes . I get a better final and pre-polish with it and use the silicon for the ruff
but I use 20,000 grit for final polish
Hi Dennis, this is just what I wanted, a bit of useful info about the Alox powder. As far as I can make out Alox of this grade is not available in the UK. Which is a pity as the other Oxides Tin,Cerium etc. are quite expensive. The other issue I have is the cost of Silica Carbide, the largest quantities I can buy is 1kg lots, I buy 5kg of Alox grit at the same price which motivated me to do this test. At this price I can shovel in twice as much alox grit and still save money. Thank you for the input and the info, cheers!
also. get a dremel and a cheap set of diamond bits. those big crazy sets. you can polish out holes and defects. even a drill could work those bits and a lot slower pace. just dip in water often
Hi, think you will find using a dremel very slow, these stones are very hard. I use my water fed saw when I want to take off heavily rough parts of the stone as it is very aggressive and therefore quick, but I also smooth up the cut with a diamond polisher head as the wheel marks from the saw will stay even through the polishing process. If you have a dremel it is worth a try though so good thinking. Thank you for the input.
you can get grit out of holes with an ultrasonic cleaner
OK, that sounds useful, thank you!
1500 polish isn't real polish, its more of a pre polish... In America we use 1 micron polish that is 14000 grit for that beautiful shine... Kingsley North is a good supplier, and the house of rocks... Get som actual polish and see the difference its amazing...
You could use a 2/1 ratio Aluminum Oxide thus Sylicon Carbide or vise versa,
But that 40 grade is going to do the business you might gain a stage and a fortnight running tome plus reducing cost.
I had not thought of mixing the grits, I will give this some thought though I am pretty happy with results just using AO. Thank you for this!
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490
Just to say,im getting also very convercent with knolege of your working regim and they are great understanding, your time operating system is by far the best i have seen thank you also for the education nothing like everyvbeing tidy neat and in place.
I get a kick out of the way you pronounce aluminum as alimini.😉
Glad I can entertain someone, Cheers!
I presume you mean silicon carbide not silica carbide. If not it is no wonder you have to pay so much for it, probably from the snake oil salesman!
picky picky, thanks for watching
@@thestonecraftingworkshop7490 Not at all, facts matter, especially when you are referring to materials using technical names, mistakes can cause people to make dangerous mistakes. You should own the problem and correct it rather and being defensive about it and minimising it. Live and learn.